“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”  We are admonished by the scriptures to renew our minds by casting down every thought and imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Unfortunately, this sound a lot easier than it really is. We are bombarded daily with negative messages, circumstances, and mindsets that work against our peace of mind. We fight a daily war for our very mind and souls. Maintaining peace of mind and overcoming worry, negative thinking, and fear begins with controlling our thoughts.

Many of our false or fear-based mindsets play over and over in our heads without much notice, and in many cases, the thoughts we meditate on today have been around for a LONG time, maybe as far back as childhood. This often causes us to react to situations without really contemplating our actions. When we do, we’re acting out on our familiar mental and behavioral patterns. I’m sure you’ve heard people say, “Well that’s just the way I am.”  What they may not understand is that, this is just the way they are choosing to be by holding onto old patterns of thinking. The good news is that we can decide to renew our minds at any time. I didn’t say it was easy, but acknowledging our stinkin’ thinking is the first step in recovery.